


it’s not easy being green

by thunderylee



Category: KAT-TUN (Band), NewS (Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-12
Updated: 2008-10-12
Packaged: 2019-02-03 18:43:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12753984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: For school, Nakamaru has to start a recycling program at his workplace.





	it’s not easy being green

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from agck.

Jin stares at the poster as Maru tacks it up on the wall, looking confused. “Where do the arrows go?”

“What ar-” Maru starts, then notices that Jin’s referring to the symbol for recycling. “They go into these barrels,” he tells him, pointing as he describes each one. “Aluminum in here, glass in here, and paper in here.”

Jin looks at the milk can he just finished, then at all three of the barrels. He starts to reach towards the paper barrel, then Maru grabs his arm and moves him to the aluminum barrel. “Yay, I recycled!” Jin exclaims. “I totally contributed to saving the world, right?”

Holding back a sigh, Maru nods.

Jin whips out his phone and starts punching buttons. “I can’t wait to tell Pi. I bet he’s never saved the world before.”

“Thank you,” Maru says dryly.

He spends the morning halting nearly everyone who passes by, senpai to juniors to choreographers, pointing at their recyclable items and asking them to please dispose of them in these containers when they’re done. Aside from the few people who happened to be finishing their drinks at that moment, Maru doesn’t get much of anything before Ueda grabs him for practice.

He’s going through the trash cans closest to the cafeteria when Massu finds him. “If you don’t have any money, I’ll buy you dinner,” he tells him, looking pained that his friend feels the need to root through garbage for food.

“You see this?” Maru tells him, holding up the foil cover from a fruit cup. “This can be recycled.” He gestures towards the half a bag of cans he’s already pulled out. “These can be recycled. Even some of these fast food containers can be recycled.” He blows his bangs out of his face and sighs again, then makes a face at the smell he just inhaled.

Massu blinks. “What can I do to help?”

Maru looks like he wants to kiss him. “I don’t suppose you’d want to come with me to the dumpster. I had to fight the janitor for this one – I’m sure he’s already gotten the rest.”

Massu doesn’t look too happy about it, but he nods firmly and helps Maru up from the ground. They pass by Maru’s recycling display on the way and Massu pauses, considering the posters and neatly drawn pictures of what should go in each barrel (as suggested by Jin, for clarity).

“What?” Maru prompts him, seeing the wheels turning in Massu’s head. “Is there something missing?”

“Yes,” Massu tells him. “But leave it to me. I happen to know someone who is really good at advertising.”

Maru is a little wary, but he trusts Massu and nods. “Any help Masuda-kun can give me will be greatly appreciated! I’m having such a hard time motivating these guys to help save the environment.”

“Motivation,” Massu repeats. “That’s it.” He pulls out his phone and types off an email, then grins at Maru. “Okay, let’s go dumpster diving!”

Two hours later, Maru has full barrels and no sense of smell. He takes a long shower when he gets home, using that promotional rose stuff Massu gave him for his birthday to help take away the stench that had his sister chasing him through the house with Fabreeze.

The next morning, there’s pandemonium in the hallway where Maru’s booth is set up. He pushes through people, muttering apologies and thinking the worst, stopping dead in his tracks when he sees all of NewS and KAT-TUN surrounding the barrels, wearing white T-shirts with the recycling logo on it, although Maru doesn’t remember it being that sparkly.

“Oh good, Nakamaru-kun!” Koyama cries, flailing over to him. “I’m glad you’re here. We need more barrels!”

Maru blinks incredulously. “You filled them all already?”

An arm slings around his shoulder; Maru recognizes it as Yamapi’s. “I sent out an email last night. People are bringing things from home and their families to help save the world.”

Maru looks helplessly up into Yamapi’s face. “Thank you?”

A T-shirt snaps in his face and Maru looks down to see Nishikido glaring at him. “I sacrificed sleep to make these. Wear one.”

“Don’t let him lie to you,” Yamapi whispers in his ear. “Uchi did most of it.”

Koki’s next, practically shoving Yamapi off of Maru as Maru pulls the shirt over his head. “Why didn’t you tell me you were doing something cool like this?” he says accusingly. “You should share things with your own group first!”

“I _did_ tell you-” Maru starts, but is interrupted by Kame’s shrill yell.

“Koki! This one is asking for you!”

Koki’s face lights up in surprise and he sprints away; Maru looks over everyone’s heads to see that Yamapi, Kame, and Tegoshi are standing in a line on the other side of the table, offering hugs to anyone who donates. Fujigaya nearly knocks Koki to the floor, but Maru forgives him since he has a whole garbage bag of recyclables from Fujigaya’s group.

“Takki’s been by three times already,” Shige says in amusement as he sorts the contents into the appropriate barrels; Maru guesses that nobody wants to hug him. “I think Tegoshi got Nagase to put the fear of life into the senpai. Either that or Takki just wanted to hug Yamashita a lot.”

Maru sees Nishikido grab a junior by the collar until they sucked down their Sobe and deposited it in the glass barrel. “It’s the thought that counts,” he says, more to himself than to Shige.

“Nakamaru-kun!” Massu’s voice squeals, and Maru sees him waving from behind ABC.

He makes his way towards him and gapes speechlessly, not knowing what to say. “Masuda-kun, thank you-”

“It was nothing,” Massu says through his grin. “All you needed was the right kind of advertising.”

The next week, when both Koyama and Maru wear their sparkly recycle shirts on the Shounen Club and give a little speech at the end about saving the world (Koyama flashes the peace sign with both hands because he thinks it’s a cute pun), recycling barrels are set out next to trash bins in every high school in the country and any corporation where young females are employed.

Needless to say, Maru gets an A.  



End file.
